Data sovereignty is the critical boardroom priority for European business leaders, says ALSO Group

London 30th June- EBM Neswdesk Analysis- Mark Appleton, Group Lead Vendor Ecosystem Development at ALSO Group

In light of new European Technological Sovereignty Packages, organisations are increasingly seeking innovation that doesn’t sacrifice control over where data resides, and how it is governed. 

Following the European Commission’s publication of its Technological Sovereignty Packages, which bring together proposals on cloud, AI and semiconductors under a single policy agreement, Europe is setting out a new direction for its digital economy. 

This package highlights a growing focus among policymakers on the infrastructure supporting digital services. European policymakers are placing greater attention on how access to these technologies is secured, and how dependencies on external providers are managed over the long term.

For organisations, decisions about data jurisdiction and AI deployment are becoming scrutinised in terms of how systems are designed and governed, for the sake of operational resilience and business continuity. 

Mark Appleton, Group Lead Vendor Ecosystem Development at ALSO Group, believes data sovereignty is firmly a business boardroom-level priority, being embedded across strategic decision-making as organisations seek to retain control over their data while scaling digital and AI capabilities. 

“Data residency now goes beyond a compliance requirement for organisations, sitting as a priority for business boardrooms everywhere. Ensuring operational risk management and protecting business intellectual property are business necessities, not just regulatory requirements. 

“Where data resides, and who owns jurisdiction over it, now has direct implications for business continuity and long-term competitiveness. These shifts in priorities, in which sovereignty is now a combination of business risk and competitive strategy, are influencing how entire regions – especially across Europe – govern their data. 

Appleton continues, “European organisations aren’t turning away from global cloud innovation. However, they are insisting upon delivery within frameworks that respect a strong regulatory environment (due to the legacy of GDPR and increasing AI regulation). In respecting local laws and expectations, leading to a surge in solutions and offerings. 

“Hyperscalers are adapting to introduce stricter data boundaries and sovereign regions, alongside partnerships with local operators to create overall more individually tailored cloud ecosystems. This has begun the emergence of a completely hybrid digital landscape, where global scale is combined with local control, shifting how the cloud operates.”

While data sovereignty is increasingly debated, Appleton affirms that the rapid adoption of AI has brought greater urgency to the conversation. 

Appleton explains: “When dealing with models trained on sensitive data, questions around data control and jurisdiction become that much more critical. Sovereign cloud, where your data lives and who governs it, and sovereign AI, which controls your models, trains the data and its outputs, are distinct entities. You cannot claim sovereignty if you don’t understand how your data is being used to generate intelligence. This is the crux of where many organisations are now focusing.” 

“With the right cloud architectures, achieving greater innovation alongside control is possible. Hybrid and multi-cloud environments are enabling organisations to combine hyperscale capabilities with sovereign controls. It acts as a design to follow, forcing the development of solutions that are more resilient and transparent when securing business data.”

Appleton continues by advocating for channel partners as indispensable support for this new architecture. 

“For most SMEs, the reality is that they lack in-house expertise to effectively navigate the full complexity of sovereignty. The channel plays a critical role in bridging this knowledge gap across network architecture and regulation.

“In bringing together hyperscalers, European providers and a breadth of varied, specialised solutions, technology distributors can better help their partners in designing offerings that meet compliance requirements. Through a cloud ecosystem approach, it helps channel partners build compliant multi-cloud architectures in evolving regulatory frameworks and deliver sovereign-ready solutions tailored to specific industry or individual business needs.”

Appleton concludes, “In connecting the dots between vendors and partners, customer data sovereignty is more achievable than ever.”

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